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More Calif. Adults Seek Dental Care at Hospital Emergency Departments

Friday, February 1, 2013

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More Calif. Adults Seek Dental Care at Hospital Emergency Departments

Friday, February 1, 2013

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More Californians in recent years have sought dental care at emergency departments because of cuts to Medi-Cal dental benefits or the loss of private dental insurance, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program.

Background

In 2009, California eliminated coverage of non-emergency dental procedures -- such as teeth cleanings and fillings -- for nearly three million adult Denti-Cal beneficiaries. Denti-Cal is a Medi-Cal dental program. The cut has saved the state more than $100 million annually.

In addition, many Californians who had private dental insurance have lost their coverage because of unemployment or because their employer stopped offering it.

More Patients Seeking Dental Care at EDs

According to data from San Francisco General Hospital, the number of ED visits by patients with dental complaints was:

365 in 2008-2009;

453 in 2009-2010; and

651 in 2011-2012.

Data from Highland Hospital in Oakland show that the number of ED patients seeking dental care was:

577 in 2007; and

2,718 in 2011.

Beth Mertz -- an assistant professor at the UC-San Francisco School of Dentistry -- said there no longer is a safety net for adults who have lost dental coverage.

She said, "Once the tooth starts to go sour, unless they can find the money to pay for it out of pocket, their choice is to wait until it gets bad enough to cover it as an emergency extraction."

EDs Struggle To Provide Dental Care

Although many state residents are seeking dental care at EDs, many departments do not staff dentists.

The Chronicle reports that ED physicians are limited in their ability to treat dental issues. They can:

Prescribe painkillers and antibiotics for damaged teeth; and

Refer patients to dentists to have a tooth extracted, a procedure that still is covered by Medi-Cal (Joseph, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/31).

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Imagine that for example let's say Mary 56 has no dental insurance and is still disabled due to cancer related long term conditions. Mary has always taken care of her teeth but now with a tooth that has broken sample crown each tooth is well above $900.00 to replace. So Mary also has to beware cause if your dental needs are not met bacteria can and will effect other organs like the heart therefore Mary will be going to ER which costs more money then helping Mary get basic dental services she deserves...........

February 13, 2013 at 9:06 AM

Christina Vanderjagt

Thank you for being here. As a nurse in a nonprofit community hospital I have seen more cases on my telemetry floor of endocarditis in patients with either no insurance or medicare-medical and I wonder if it's a side effect of the cuts in dental. C Vanderjagt,RN